Footnotes

¹ Wage-loss supplements refer to benefits that compensate for temporary or permanent loss of earning capacity resulting from compensable work restrictions. These benefits are typically paid monthly after medical plateau, when a worker’s restrictions and residual disability prevent a return to pre-accident employment, and their actual or estimated earning capacity is reduced as a result.

As a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, I reviewed and approved these wage‑loss supplement proposals prepared by case management—assessing both the suitability of the proposed job goal and the validity of the earning‑capacity estimate. When a worker had not yet secured post‑accident employment, WCB would often estimate (or “deem”) earnings based on the expected income associated with the proposed job goal. One of the most critical aspects of my role was determining whether this deemed occupation aligned with the worker’s restrictions, education, transferable skills, and labour‑market access—and whether it reasonably reflected their long‑term earning capacity.

Even when a worker was employed, part of the process involved ruling out underemployment (e.g., working below capacity due to unresolved barriers) before finalizing any earnings-loss estimate. This process is governed by WCB Policy 04‑04, Part II, Application 1 – Determining Impairment of Earning Capacity, which explicitly allows WCB to use estimated earnings when a worker is unemployed or underemployed after all reasonable vocational supports and job‑search efforts have been provided. The policy requires that the estimated earning capacity be based on suitable employment compatible with the worker’s restrictions and reasonably available in the local labour market, typically using wage data from sources such as ALIS occupational profiles.

The wage-loss benefit types include:

• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): An informal term commonly used to describe monthly wage-loss payments issued after medical plateau but before vocational plateau, when a worker’s long-term earning capacity has not yet been fully assessed. These payments are calculated monthly and serve as a provisional wage-loss supplement while entitlement to an ELP or TEL is being determined.

  Not to be confused with temporary partial disability benefits paid biweekly during medical recovery, which are governed under WCB Policy 04-02, Part I. Although both types of benefits fall under the same overarching policy framework, the monthly TPD described here is functionally distinct—typically issued after medical stabilization but prior to final vocational determination, and procedurally treated as a wage-loss supplement under Policy 04-02, Part II. In rare cases, similar payments may also be issued post-vocational plateau where ongoing uncertainty remains about employability or earnings capacity.

• Temporary Economic Loss (TEL): A benefit of moderate duration awarded when post-accident earning capacity is expected to recover within six years; effective January 1, 1995.

• Economic Loss Payment (ELP): A long-term benefit awarded when permanent restrictions reduce post-accident earning capacity for a period anticipated to exceed six years; effective January 1, 1995.

• Earnings Loss Supplement (ELS): A top-up for pre-1995 PPD pensions, awarded when the pension does not fully compensate for the ongoing loss of earning capacity caused by the compensable injury.

Permanent disability awards (pensions) are distinct and only apply to claims with a date of accident prior to January 1, 1995. A PPD pension compensates for PCI and the assumed long-term loss of earning capacity associated with that impairment, including limitations on work capacity. A PTD pension provides compensation at the full disability level and is typically based on 90% of the worker’s annual net earnings, continuing for life unless revised due to a change in condition or fraud.

PTD status, however, may still be granted on claims with a date of accident after January 1, 1995: while it does not result in a lifetime pension, it may result in a full-lifetime ELP, calculated at the full disability level, and exempts the claim from retirement-related reductions if the criteria are met. PTD status may be granted if the worker meets one of the presumptive conditions in s. 43(2) of the WCA, or if WCB accepts PTD status based on similar severity to one of the presumptive conditions.

² WCB Policy 04-07, Part I defines severe injuries as including spinal cord injuries, severe burns, moderate to severe brain injuries, major amputations, significant respiratory conditions, total loss of vision, terminal cancers, bilateral arm or leg fractures, and other injuries of comparable severity.

WCB Policy 04-10, Part I defines serious injuries as including rotator cuff tears, ruptured discs, severe ankle or wrist fractures, severe knee injuries (e.g., torn ACL), and other injuries of similar severity. Most soft tissue injuries are not considered serious unless unusually severe.

³ s. 43(2) of the WCA presumes PTD in cases where a worker has sustained:
(a) total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes;
(b) loss of both feet at or above the ankle;
(c) loss of both hands at or above the wrist;
(d) loss of one hand at or above the wrist and one foot at or above the ankle;
(e) injury to the spine resulting in permanent and complete paralysis of both legs, both arms, or one leg and one arm; or
(f) injury to the central nervous system resulting in mental incompetence rendering the worker incapable of being gainfully employed.